Mount View senior and valedictorian Olivia McPherson hugs her grandmother Barrie Fernald prior to commencement Sunday in Thorndike. McPherson said she planned to tell the 76 graduating classmates to be strong and not to run from bad things that happen in life. "They shape you and show that you can survive," McPherson said, who lost her mother and SAD 3 educator Trisha McPherson last year. Morning Sentinel photo by David Leaming